


Leave all your Love and Loving Behind you (if you Want to Survive)

by SummerLeighWind (orphan_account)



Category: Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Arguing, Broken Families, Character Death, Child Death, F/M, Families of Choice, Flashbacks, Gen, Great Uncle North, Guns, Harm to Children, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Imprisonment, Kid Fic, Lost Love, Memories, Mention of Jack's family, Mild Gore, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Violence, Well - Freeform, Zombies, child ZOMBIE death, psycho little girls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2017-12-23 02:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/921027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/SummerLeighWind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All good humor deserts the author. "Dead," he answers, "I presume, she had been away at college across country when-it happened."</p><p>Both boy and girl look to him with faces solemn and far too old. "That's sad," little Sis whispers, "Jack had to bash in daddy's and mommy's head so they wouldn't eat me."</p><p>The horror Black feels for the children can't be hidden, just to imaging Jack splattered with the black goo of an undead on him and his youngers sister not far behind traumatized with eyes too big for her face...it makes him shiver. This is one story he wishes had stayed within the confines of fiction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

He likes using the Remington he found in the old lawyer's house across the street; sometimes, though, he has to use his grandfather's hunting knife when they get too close. Now, would be one of those times. Grunting as a another undead lunges for his juggler, he ends up stabbing it (a him he thinks) in the eye and buys himself the second he needs to kick it back so his free hand can grab the undead's tuft of hair so he can have easy accesses at its throat. As it moans and groans, Black does his best to ignore the flailing limbs as he carries the inevitable job of cutting off its head. It's the only way to kill an undead...that, and blowing their heads off with a bullet. Cringing as black sludge burbles up from the wound as he works through the difficult job of slicing through the muscle and bones, the man can't help but whisper;

"By god, this never gets any easier."

"No it doesn't," someone from behind says; fighting the urge to jolt, Black finishes the job with one last forceful thrust into the neck. Swiftly turning around, the male instantly has his rifle pointed in the face of a-boy? The boy-a teenager, probably not even eighteen, puts up both hands. "Hey boogeyman, calm down; if I wanted you dead I would have done it while you were killing the ugly, yeah?" He prompts.

Black doesn't dare to lower the Remington, he's watched enough people get killed for it even before the infestation. "I'm not an idiot," he hisses.

The boy nods. "I know," he says, "Look, I don't got anything other than this staff on me, see?" He implores, waving around a stick that looks suspiciously like a sheppard's crook.

Black shakes his head. "You _have_ to be lying," he growls, jabbing the gun at the boy in a silent threat.

"No, _really_ ," he pleads, "Look, I got a kid waiting back at a safe house for me." Reaching around, he slowly brings a full bag into his view and opens it to show Black what appears to be ramen, batteries, matches and-is that Candyland?

The man still hesitates to lower his gun and remarks with great stubbornness, "You're a thief then?"

The youth falters. "I- _no,_ I must be really stupid having stopped to watch ya, huh? Because you're going to kill me and Sis's going to find me walking around as an undead and she's going to have to kill me and-"

"Shut up!" Black barks, "Look, we both need to get out of here; the undead will come upon us if we don't get moving."

The boy agrees readily. "Yeah!" Head bobbing so quickly, it causes his blue-hoodie to slip back and reveal a head of white hair. "Hey, if I showed you where Sis and I are staying, will you stay for the night, like pretty please?"

Black considers the offer. It's better than sleeping outside and he _does_ keep his knife tucked against him at all times..."That sounds reasonable," he accepts. "I am Black, who are you?"

The boy grins showing off a row of perfectly straight white teeth. "The name's Frost."

Tucking his Remington into the sling on his back, the man smirks. "How apt," he remarks.

The boy chuckles. "I thought so too." They begin to walk then, side by side; neither dare to stop now, dusk is on the horizon and it's bad to be stuck in the open when you can't see in the pitch black of the night.

"So, Black," the boy starts, "What were you in the other?"

"A horror writer," her answers in a clipped tone.

The boy gives a laugh. "Oh man, that totally explains the all black attire."

Black doesn't deign to give any reply; let the boy think what he wishes, he doesn't need to know that the black he wears is to mourn the daughter he's surely lost. Sometimes, he misses wearing colors; especially white. He doesn't think he'll ever wear white again-it would only be stained in this new world. "What were you Frost, and this child-Sis?"

Frost glances up at the lean man. "Ya know, your average teenager; and Sis? She's my baby sister."

The man knows what happened to the boy's parents-or he thinks he does-however, he needs to hear it aloud. "And your parents?" He inquires stiffly.

The child looks away from him. "We came home from school one day," he whispers, "We opened the door and Sis-" he takes a sharp breath, "She woulda been zombie chow if I hadn't grabbed the coat rack and swung it at my undead dad." Black feels more empathy for the teenager than he should, it's dangerous to feel such a thing when death's always just around the corner.

"This way!" Frost suddenly exclaims, taking a sharp turn up a staircase belonging to an apartment complex. "This place already had a metal grate over the most accessible windows, so that's why we're staying here!" He explains leading the tall man back to his home base. Coming to the door, the youth knocks three times in rapid succession before counting aloud, "One hippopotamus, two hippopotamus, three hippopotamus!" And knocks one final time with a little more force than necessary. Instantly, the door swings open.

"Jack!" A little girl cries, arms encircling the teenager's waist.

"Jack Frost?" Black murmurs, quirking a thin eyebrow at the teen.

Noticing him, the girl shrinks back. "Jack?" She utters fearfully.

The boy brushes back the girl's overgrown bangs and grins down at her. "He's cool! Not a bad guy at all! In fact...he thought _I_ was one!" He gasps, causing the younger child to giggle.

"You?" She says with a scrunched up nose. "You're not scary at all!"

Eyes resting on the girl fondly, he holds her close. "Don't I know it?" He mutters.

Clearing his throat, Black prompts them, "Should we go inside?"

Pulling away from his sister, Jack slaps her hands away from the trash-bag of supplies and scoots past the open door. "You're right," he concurs. When the older male hesitates to walk in, Jack bows grandly and says, "C'mon in Mr. Boogeyman!"

The tall man's lips quirk in a smirk as he enters and shuts the door behind him. Looking away from the door, he sees Jack puttering around in the kitchen and the girl peeking inside the bag. "Aw!" she whines, "More Ramen Jack?"

The teenager shrugs, looking away from the stove where he's just lit a fire. "It's easier to carry than a bunch of cans, Sis." He reminds her.

Sighing in a dramatic way, the little girl looks up at Black with puppy-dog eyes he hasn't been the victim of since his own daughter gazed upon him. "Do you have anything yummy to eat, Mr. Black?" She begs, little hands clasping together in hope. The tall man pauses. Tucked away in the inner pocket of his satchel, he has a package of jelly beans; but, is he willing to share it? "Pleeeaaase?" The girl pleads once more, drawing out the word.

Sighing in defeat, Pitch slips off his satchel; taking out the first book he ever wrote from his bag, he holds it in one hand and rummages in the back pocket with his other hand for the package of jelly beans. "Here you are," he offers; handing her the treat, she squeals.

"Jelly beans Jack!" She shouts joyously. "I haven't had any in _for-ever_!"

Jack smiles back at her; though, his eyes quickly wander to the book still held in Black's hand. "Kozmotis Pitchiner, huh? My school banned your graphic novels-said they were too violent for our impressionable minds."

The younger child pauses in stuffing her mouth full with gobs of candy. "Jack read me one once," she tells him, "Mommy got really mad at him when I wouldn't sleep in my own bed."

Jack chuckles nervously, guiltily looking to Kozmotis; however, Black feels proud. He can remember when he was just a young man, only beginning to write; with a wife and little girl hardly old enough to reach the kitchen counters let alone his shelf of horror stories. He also remembers when he finally got one of his books published how little Seraphina demanded him to read it to her. Much like her father, she'd been far more fascinated by the morbid story than frightened by it; his wife had still been upset with him after she found out, though.

Smiling at the skinny boy, Pitch tells him; "I read my daughter my first graphic novel as a bedtime story-she loved it."

Jack laughs, eyes twinkling and Sis joins in soon after; not quite understanding, but enjoying the happiness around her. "Yeah?" Jack grins, "Where is she anyway?"

All good humor deserts the author. "Dead," he answers, "I presume, she had been away at college across country when-it happened."

Both boy and girl look to him with faces solemn and far too old. "That's sad," little Sis whispers, "Jack had to bash in daddy's and mommy's head so they wouldn't eat me."

The horror Black feels for the children can't be hidden, just to imaging Jack splattered with the black goo of an undead on him and his youngers sister not far behind traumatized with eyes too big for her face...it makes him shiver. This is one story he wishes had stayed within the confines of fiction. "That must have been very scary," Kozmotis whispers, crouching down beside the girl.

She nods, eyes distant and dazed. "It was," she agrees, "But, it's okay; Jack hugs me when I have nightmares."

Curling a lock of brown hair behind her ear, Pitch hums. "You have a very good big brother," he compliments; eyes wandering to the teenager who stares at the two of them in transfixed silence.

The girl nods with confidence. "I do," she concludes.

Voice hoarse, Jack asks, "What are you doing out here anywhere? In the middle of South Dakota?"

Still crouched beside the teenager's sister, Pitch bring his gaze back to the impeccable blue of the younger child. "Like I said," he begins, "My daughter was across country for college-meaning California, I plan to go there and see for myself that she is a part of the undead." He finishes.

"Can we come with you?" Frost blurts.

"What?" The man gapes.

"I-we can't stay here forever..." The teen trails off, grasping for words with his flapping hands; he whispers, "I want out of here, but, I-"

Seeing where the youth is going, Pitch nods his head; "Not on your own," flickering his stare to the little girl, "Not without extra protection."

Relieved, Jack Frost smiles at him. "Yeah, exactly," he grins.

Closing his eyes, Kozmotis wanders what he's about to get himself into. "You can come with me," he agrees, "But, you have to keep yourself alive."

"Thank you," The boy utters, " _thank you._ " he hears bare-feet slap the linoleum of the apartment floor and suddenly two sets of arms are wrapped around him.

"Thank you, Mr. Black," Sis mumbles into his jacket.

Opening his eyes, Pitch brings both children close and cradles them to him. He's too soft. Any sane person would leave such dependents behind...but, they're too much like the daughter that he's missing and how can he ever look to the sky again without feeling guilty as the boy's and girls parents look down upon him?


	2. II

When Black wakes up, he's a little more than panicked when he can't move his arms. What stops him from hurtling from his bed is the sound of snuffling snores; turning his head to the left and then to the right, he sees Jack and Sis using his shoulders as pillows. At first, he's confused, how did they do it? He's gotten used to sleeping lightly with the undead all around, but somehow, the kids managed to slip right into his borrowed room and to his side. Sighing, he wanders if it isn't because this is the first night he's spent sleeping on a real bed in a place that's definitely undead free in months. Wriggling his arms free, he pats the boy's and girl's backs.

"Alright kids," he says, "Get up." Sis blinks her eyes open and Jack grumbles under his breath. With a little effort, the man manages to sit up; clutching the little girl safely to his shoulder, he lets Jack fall to the mattress where he instantly curls into a ball. Shaking his head, Black brings his gaze to the girl yawning into his collarbone.

"What time is it?" She questions.

Using his free arm, the tall man pushes back his sleeve to see his watch. "Six thirty give or take couple minutes," he replies.

The little girl squirms until her nimble fingers are prodding at his watch and her big brown eyes look to him with awe. "Your watch still works? Jack's always having to get batteries for the one in the kitchen-I think it's broken."

Nodding, Black explains to Sis, "This watch is a wind up watch, it doesn't need batteries."

Eyeing said watch with admiration, she grins up at him. "That's really neat," she oozes, "I want one like that."

Patting her head, the man's eyes wander back to the teenager squinting up at him and the girl. "Maybe, when we leave we can look for one," he offers.

The child hums pleasantly. "Okay, but can mine be silver? I don't really like gold," she tells him.

Black laughs quietly. "If you so wish it," he agrees. Picking her up under the arms, his body strains just slightly as he puts her down on the floor. "Why don't you go pick something out for breakfast, hm? I noticed you have instant cocoa and coffee, do you think you could get a mug started for me?" he implores of her.

The girl puffs out her chest-looking quite funny in her Little Mermaid nightgown and SpongeBob flannel pants. "Course I can!" Sis declares, scuttling off to complete her given task.

Once she is gone, the older male turns his gaze to the window-no birds sing, but what else is to be expected? They have been eaten by the undead as supplement to the humans that are much harder to catch. "So, Jack," he starts, "When did the two of you slip in?"

The boy gives a half-shrug against the bed, staring up at him with frighteningly cold eyes. "Sis heard the zombies scrapping against the front door," he says, "She got scared and remembered that you have a gun with you, she wanted to come in here. She thought you'd protect us, what should I have told her?  _No_?" He demands.

Black gives a scoff. "Of course not," he agrees, "I'm just surprised one of you didn't lose an eye coming in here."

With a wry smirk, Jack replies, "Yeah, well, Sis and I have a lot of experience sneaking around. Unfortunately for us, dad wasn't a nice drunk-you learned to be quiet or get a wallop for being noisy."

The man's heart pangs anew for the children. "I-I don't know what to say," he whispers.

Jack pats his hand. "You don't got to say anything Mr. Boogeyman, 'cause underneath all that scary; you're a big softy." He tells him.

Pitch crosses his arms and scowls at the boy. "I am not!" He snaps.

The youth laughs, easily unfurling from his position and flitting to the doorway. "'s alright, Black, it means your a good guy!" Jack proclaims, leaving Kozmotis feeling a little more than speechless. Once the boy's out of sight, the man can hear the boy calling to his sister, "How's our breakfast coming Sis?" Shaking his head, Black feels more fondness (he won't ever call it love) for the children than ever before.

* * *

Several hours after breakfast and into their second game of Candyland (a day or two of rest is definitely in order), Black decides to bring up a necessary issue. "We need to get Sis a pistol-well, a knife, I think the force of a gun would be too much for her."

Jack pauses mid-step with his game piece. "What?" he hisses, "You want  _my sister_ out there killing those-those _monsters_!" He yells and the man watches the little girl from him shirk back as her brother seethes. "She's a kid! She shouldn't have to kill anything! Not even an undead!" He's jabbing his finger accusingly at Black, but the man refuses to react and takes it all in great stride.

Calmly, Kozmotis makes eye contact with Sis and explains to Jack, "I don't expect your sister to kill any undead-or people for that matter," taking a breath once he sees Jack's not vibrating with rage any longer, the man continues, "But, there's no guarantee she won't need to-it's better safe than sorry, Jack."

The boy simmers, silently standing there for a long while. "Okay," he sighs, "I guess you have a point."

Sis seeing that the worst has past, perks up. "Can I have a pink knife?" She inquires.

Both Black and Frost chuckle. "We'll see my dear," the man promises, "If not, we can paint the handle pink."

With a smile, the girl accepts his answer. "Okay," she decides. Glancing then to her brother, she demands, "Finish your turn Jack! I wanna go!"

Sitting back down, the boy grins toothily. "Of course Sis," he consents, dramatically stopping his piece across the game board.

Hands coming to her mouth, the girl giggles and gazes at Black. "It's your turn Mr. Boogeyman!"

"Alright," he mutters, swiftly going through the motions; he pauses when he realizes he has won.

Lip wobbling, the girl cries, "That's the second time in a row! You're cheating!" Turning to her brother, she glowers up at him. "He's  _cheating_."

Jack sighs. "I think Mr. Black's just really good, kiddo."

Crossing her arms in a pout, Sis glares at the game board. "Can we get my knife now?" She implores.

Jack murmurs something mutinous to himself; however, with a hard glare he settles and Black nods. "We can, my dear," he concurs. Coming to gaze at Jack once more, the man prompts the youth. "You do know where a sporting store or something of the kind is, don't you?" He demands.

With a great huff, the teenager bobs his head at the older male. "I do," he concedes. "But, we aren't leaving until Sis's dressed and her hair's  _brushed._ "

"No! No brushes!" The youngest child wails, "Brushes  _hurt_!"

Shaking his head, Jack sneers, "It hurts because you never  _brush_ your hair!"

Seeing that this is an old argument between the siblings, Kozmotis decides to fit himself between them. "Bring me your brush, Sis," he orders. Reluctantly, she does so. Once standing in front of him with a cheap little brush in hand, the man clucks, "We'll have to get you a better brush." Pulling the girl down into his lap, he inquires, "Now, do you want a braid or just a ponytail?"

Kicking her feet in anticipation, Sis chirps, "I want a braid! Mommy couldn't even do those!"

Beginning at the ends of her tangled locks, Black nods. "Of course," he agrees, "Now, what's your favorite game?" Jack watches in mystified silence as the man carries out a civil conversation with his sister as he slowly works the knots from her hair. Not even mom had ever gotten such compliance from his sister, thoughtfully, Jack wonders if this man _hadn't_ been a gift from his mother. He always made sure to tell Sis when she had nightmares that their undead parents hadn't been their parents anymore, so it was okay to kill them. Jack, of course, had his doubts about that one; but, kept it hidden for his sister's sake. Now, however, he's starting to believe it. If he was truly such an awful person, god definitely wouldn't have led Jack straight to this strange man who showed a gentleness inhuman.

Smiling, Jack scoots up next to Black not missing the way his eyes flicker to him curiously before returning to Sis's chestnut locks. "Oh really? Then how do you like your eggs cooked?" He asks, the teenager doesn't know what they've been talking about; but, he does know how his sister likes her eggs cooked.

"She'll only eat the yolk-and only if it's been done sunny side up," he blurts, not feeling at all guilty even when the little girl frowns at him. Pitch smiles widely and seems to relax a fraction more as they fall into easy conversation.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Sis tucked safely between him and Frost, Black lets his fingers graze the hilt of his knife from time to time as they walk; the teenager's grip never weakens on his crook. They walk in near silence, the undead can jump out from unexpected spots at anytime; the quieter they are, the less likely they'll come out from wherever they are hiding. Little fingers entwine in his old Marine's jacket, glancing down, he sees Sis's anxious face staring up at him. "What's wrong?" He murmurs.

"Is everyone else an undead?" She inquires, just a tad too loud.

The man is startled by the suddenness of the question, he briefly glances to Jack to see he's watching him for an answer as well. Lifting his face to scan the town block around them, he notices nothing new or different from the last time he checked. Slowly, he shakes his head. "No," he answers, "We are not undead," he reminds her. Mind sifting through memories of the all but desolate land he has travelled, Black does know that very few are alive as they are. "I have encountered several people on my way here," he tells the children. Though, he made enemies of them; he'd run into an Aussie once, the burly man had been trucking a crate's ton of supplies on a bike. Black knows he is a conniving man-a desperate one as well, he'd stolen that crate. Left the Aussie, Bunnymund, he called himself; tied to a tree.

He'd also run across a young woman-probably only a few years older than Jack-weeping over the freshly killed corpses of a man and woman (no bite marks, no scratches, only bullet wounds), two identical girls wailing on either side of her. Kozmotis hadn't thought to waste time, blasting off each head with his rifle (splattering brain matter and blood and the girls), the girls had looked to him then. The oldest, voice thick from pain and accented with a foreignness, she had screamed, "My parents are dead! And you had the gal to desecrate what was left of them!"

Black, though, felt no sympathy; only a grim justification. "Would you have them rise up?" He demanded, "Have them eat those pretty faces of yours right off your heads?"

The girl stared at him. Then, face taking up an ugly look; she began to howl. The man had only shaken his head at the young woman and glanced to the two shocked children with little remorse. If they were smart, they would leave the woman; leave her before she brought more undead on them. Brought undead that would do them in. He'd walked on. Not once looking back.

Those two were only a couple of the numerous souls he'd passed this far.

"Have you seen a lot of people then?" Jack demands, eye piercing.

The other male only shrugs. "Enough," he replies. The boy takes what he says and nods. Blinking, Black inquires, "How much further Jack?"

The boy points forward with his staff. "Two more blocks this way and then three to the right-you'll see it, it's painted an obnoxious orange-our hometown hunting store.." He explains softly.

"Ah," the man mumbles. They trek lightly, careful not to step on wayward trash or trip on uneven cement and road; anything-anything at all-can draw the undead. Breathing included. Daringly, Sis takes a bit of a step ahead of them; inspecting a dropped cellphone (not like they have any use any longer). She continues this pattern, flitting ahead a few steps to look at something or other as they go; even up until they turn. "Sis, come-" Jack starts to call, but it's too late.

The little girl shrieks and Black has his rifle drawn, while Frost charges forth with his crook in hand. A zombie-gray, gaunt and missing a cheek and nose, hovers just above Sis; gurgling as it slowly dawns on it that a living is in front of it. It makes to swipe at Sis when Jack swings his crook, knocking it away enough for the older male to shoot it nearly dead-center in the forehead, black sludge spurts on everyone.

Pale and eyes dilated, the girl looks nearly ready to burst into tears; but, Jack covers her eyes and shakes his head. "No crying, Sis," he mumbles, "Not here." Her lip quivers still, but, with a stuttering breath; the girl bobs her head in compliance. Jack removes his hand and soon, they are once again on the move towards the hunting shop. Slowly, they do reach the shop; Black only using one more bullet when an undead a block ahead of them turns in their direction. Coming to the front of the shop; they notice the windows are shattered and jagged, the door completely missing on one side.

Clinging tight to her brother, the girl inquires, "Will undead be inside?"

"Only one way to find out," The adult grunts, keeping his Remington at ready. They tread in carefully, much of the store is a disaster state; shelves knocked around, what little merchandise that is left scattered and broken on the floor. They inspect the store as they go, occasionally pausing to look at particularly interesting items. "Hey, cool," Jack smiles, "Astronaut ice cream." He tells them, waving around a couple packets of said food.

"Yummy," Sis giggles.

Rolling his eyes, Black despairs that there are no knives-let alone _pink_ ones left. Taking a step, he notices a kicked over display and craning his neck grins with triumph. "Sis," he calls, "Come here dear; I think I found you your knife." The girl frowns, but the man doesn't see it as he is too busy picking one of the few knives left. "It's pink too!" He remarks, thank god for breast cancer awareness.

Gasping, the little girl skips to his side and giddily screeches, "Awesome!" Little fingers wriggling in anticipation, she cries, "Gimmie! Gimmie!"

Taking out his grandfather's hunting knife, the lean man obligingly cuts away the plastic and crouches in front of the young girl. She makes to snatch it from his grasp, but he jerks back just enough for her to look him in the face. "Sis," he starts; with her wide eyes entrapped on him, he orders "Do _not_ ever _not_ have this knife on you from now on, got it? Not even when you are with Jack or I, you will _always_ have this with you. Understood?"

Round face solemn, she dips her chin firmly. "I got it, Mr. Black." She confirms. Putting the weapon in her hand, Black pushes himself up on aging knees.

Smiling at back at the girl's brother, he suggests, "Why don't we look for anything else that will be useful? But, nothing beyond necessity; always pack light for long travel." The trio split into two, Jack and Sis, Black; they scope out the store. Black finds several cases of ammunition that will work for his rifle, two bed rolls and a pair of girls skiing gloves that will be useful for Sis in the coming months. When he returns to the middle of the store where Frost and Sis are, he sees they have a little basket filled with things. Approaching them, he puts his own finds aside to sort through what they have. "Ah, more freeze-dried ice cream...a hat, lip balm and-this is perfect! I'm surprised you found a first aid kit," he says admiring the item.

Jack grins. "We were too, but, this stuff's good?" He asks not fully certain.

"Very," Black agrees. Packing everything back into the basket along with what he found, he instructs Jack to keep it. "The sun's setting, we need to get back and pack-I want to leave tomorrow."

Bouncing their treasures onto a hip, the white haired boy nods. "Yeah, alright," he accepts.

Gesturing for Sis to come to his side, he says, "I hope you're ready Sis, the undead turn lively at dusk."

The little girl's dark eyes become resolute and her knife appears in her hand. "I am," she concurs, "I'll protect you guys like you protect me."

Petting back her bangs, Black thinks of his daughter. "A brave girl you are," he whispers. The child does not smile, if anything, a grim determination overcomes her face as they make their way back to the little safe haven her and her brother made. Unexpectedly (or expectedly) an undead is right outside the store, its back is to them. An idea clicking so suddenly, Black doesn't even hesitate before he tackles the monster to the ground. It moans and groans beneath him, doing it's best to both buck him off and eat him; the man, however, keeps its face pressed into the asphalt. "Sis," he calls, "I want you here now."

The child reluctantly comes to his side. "What is it, Mr. Black?" She questions.

Gritting his teeth as the undead gives a particularly gruesome moan, the lean man demands, "Decapitate it."

"What!" Jack cries from behind. "You can't be serious!"

Sending the teen his most foul glare, Kozmotis sneers. "I am," he growls, "She needs to learn-while relatively safe."

"I-I don't know that I can," Sis warbles, her whole body trembling with fear.

"You will if you want to survive," he tells her.

Angry, Jack appears in front of him-blue eyes glacial. "You wouldn't make your own daughter do this," he hisses.

Closing his eyes, the older male visualizes his daughter's face; she was stunning, tall, proud and a daughter of the earth-never had he seen a person so in-tune with nature. He thinks, he understands. "I would have made my daughter do the same," he proclaims, "To ensure she saw another day if I were not there to protect her." He feels a hot tear slip from the confines of his closed eye. "I would," he whispers.

"Okay," Jack relents, "okay," he exhales.

Opening his eyes, Black takes Sis's knife wielding hand and guides it to the still struggling undead's throat. "Do not fear," he utters and together, they behead the unfortunate soul. Once the monster is still and only oozing blackness, Sis stumbles back; falling on to her butt. Dirtied hands coming level with her eyes, she sobs.

"I've killed! I've killed someone!" She cries. Sweeping the traumatized child up in his arms, Black nods in the direction of Jack.

"Let's go," he says. They go.


	4. Chapter 4

They leave with the sun rising behind them; everything that ever mattered or need on their backs. The man and two children trek slowly a little ways away from the roads ("You never know when a car could come by or who's inside-what they might want."), it's almost pleasant, Black thinks. This opinion of course changes when almost four hours later Sis whines, "My feet _huuurt_!"

Shoving up his sleeve, the man checks his watch. "Hush," he tells her, "It's not even noon."

The girl glowers and looks ripe to complain once more, but Jack, stops her. "How about I carry you for a bit?" He offers, already slipping off his pack so he can put it on his front.

Black stops and glares at the boy. "Don't," he orders, "She needs to get used to walking like this."

"I'm _tired,_ " the little girl warbles.

Jack's eyes dart between the two of them and he gnaws at his lip; incapable of picking who to listen to. Sighing, Black sees that this won't get him very far; it seems he's going to have to change up his routine now that he has travelling companions. "Fifteen minutes," he relents, "But, no more."

Sis immediately plops down in the tall grass. Reaching into her butterfly backpack, she pulls out a little paper booklet and a set of markers. "Can we do one Mad Libs? Please?" She implores.

The thin man blinks and then glares at Jack. "I thought I told you you were only to pack necessities."

The white-haired boy grins in a mirthful way that Black feels he's going to become intimately familiar with for the rest of this trip (life?), shrugging the teenager plops down beside his sister and answers, "Your idea of necessity and an eight-year-old's are totally different."

Rolling his eyes skyward, Kozmotis settles down beside the children; gun at ready-not moving is the best way to attract an undead's attention, he's beginning to believe they can smell living from dead. Smiling at him, Sis pats his knee. "Thank you Mr. Black," she says.

"Yeah! Thanks !" Jack chirps.

Rubbing at the spot between his eyes with his thumb, Black murmurs, "Just Black please children."

"Black," The youngest parrots, before flipping to the first page in her book. Plucking the pink marker from her pack, she remarks, "I need a noun."

"Underwear!" The older child crows.

Sis looks doubtful, but reluctantly writes it in. "And another?" She asks, looking shyly to Black.

Sighing, the man scrubs a hand through his hair. "Flower," he suggests, earning a brief smile from the girl.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the brunette stands up and presents to them proudly the word-concoction they have made;

"Look at this underwear, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the flower The flower who has everything?

Look at this kitty, treasures untold How many wonders can one kitty hold? swimming around here, you'd think Sure, she's got everything

I've got jams and pans a-plenty I've got who's-its and what's-its galore You run thing-a-mabobs? I've got forty But who cares? No sweet deal. I wish more

I wanna be where the pandas are I wanna see, wanna see 'em gardening walkin' around on those Whaddya call 'em? Oh, feet

wondering your fins, you don't get too far Legs are required for jogging, dancin' Strollin' along down the What's that word again? hog Up where boys hunt Up where boys run Up where boys stay all day in the sun Wanderin' free, wish I could be Part of that castle

What would I give if I could live Outta these waters? What would I pay to spend a day Warm on the sand?

Betcha on volcanos they understand Bet they don't reprimand their lips Bright young women, sick of sinking Ready to stand

And ready to know what the rabbit know Ask 'em yummy questions and get some answers What's a quarter, and why does it What's the word? Help

When's it my turn? Wouldn't I hurt? hurt to explore that sky up above Out of green firetrucks, wish recorder could be hope of that man."

"...well that was a princess Mad Libs book." Jack mutters.

Black grins at the giggling little girl. "I think it was a very good mad libs, we can do another later," he says.

"Yay!" Sis cheers, "Can we do another now?" She pleads.

Looking to his watch, the man has to regretfully inform her, "We are already behind time dear, during dinner tonight; okay?" He tells her.

The girl sighs dramatically. "Okay," she agrees.

"Good," Kozmotis smiles, helping her brother to his feet as they resettle their bags on them for the journey ahead. They walk for nearly half an hour before the younger of the two siblings snags Black's hand. Glancing down at her, he inquires, "What is it Sis?" Her large eyes stare straight ahead. Looking in the direction her gaze refuses to waver from, he sees an undead-an undead child.

Heart gripping with an intensity of emotions, he wonders if the child's parents are still living or if he was turned by them. Eyes finding the girl once again, he questions if the siblings have ever seen a child zombie. No, he thinks, probably not. The virus-at least that's what it was believed to be-hit mostly the grown populous which then affected children because they were often turned by their own parents and trusted adults. Hugging her close against his side, he whispers to her, "Close your eyes, my dear."

Trembling, she does so; slowly pulling his rifle, he aims it at the little undead. "Wait," Jack whispers, glancing to the boy, he sees him kneel next to his sister and take her close to him. He places his hands over her ears and kisses her brow. "Do it," he utters. With a single nod, Black shoots.

He shoots from too far away for it to blow up the monster's head, but it was enough it cause it to give a high-pitched shriek and for it to hit the ground. "I'll go finish it," he imparts to Jack who holds his now crying sister against him. Stalking through the grass, he eventually comes to the small gray body; the top half of it's head has been turned into nothing more than a mess of black ooze. As it writhes there on the ground, the man can't help but stare at it with some horror, inspecting it further, he realizes the undead child wears a shirt adorned with one of those witty sayings and it's little arms are decorated with tattered bracelets. Falling down on his knees beside it he breathes, "You poor, poor child."

It stills for all of a second, before squirming to get up and attack him. "I am sorry," he apologizes right before he plunges his knife into the undead's throat effectively stunning it long enough to sever the head. He sits there a minute, watching the body twitch before slumping into true death. Brushing it's glazed eyes closed, he wipes the back of his hand under his eyes. "May you finally find peace," he mumbles. Usually, he'd try to burry the body of a child, but this is fairly far from any town at this point and most undead congregate in cities for whatever reason. So instead, he gets to his feet and picks a few wild flowers-dandelions and thistle flowers mostly; and lays it on the child's chest. Finally done, he returns to the breathing children he left behind him.

Coming up to them, he sees Sis is not the only one who's crying any longer. "It's done," he tells them. Blue and brown eyes find his own, looking between them, he'd never doubt they're siblings; however, Jack's coloring is confusing. He is not albino-his blue eyes tell him that much, but he doesn't understand why his hair is white. "I've always wonder why your hair's white," he comments.

A finger comes to caress one of the white strands upon his head. "Yeah," he croaks, "It's weird I guess," Frost admits. "Mine used to be brown like Sis's, before-"

"It turned white when daddy tried to eat me and then even more when mommy almost got us from behind." The sister explains, effectively speaking over her brother.

Jack laughs nervously. "I guess it's not just in movies that fear turns your hair white!"

Black can't help himself, putting a hand on each of their heads; he promises, "I'll do my best to make sure neither of you have to fear for your lives so terribly ever again."

The children look at him with such hope then, as if he's answered a prayer. "Thank you Mr. Black," Sis sniffles.

"What did I tell you dear?" He chides.

"Call you Black," she whispers, a little smile on her face.

"That's right," he agrees. Helping the pair up from the ground, he has them cross to the other side of the road and remarks, "I think we'll have to break into the astronaut ice cream at lunch, don't you think?" He offers to the teenager and child.

They smile at this. "Yeah!" Sis exclaims, "And we can have the mushroom soup with it right? Jack likes mushrooms." She chatters.

Black bites his tongue, soup takes a long time and he'd rather they do it as dusk after a productive day of travel; however...he thinks the kids probably need every bit of pick me up they can get at this point. Jack had done a good job of sheltering his sister (and himself) in that apartment for the last few months, but now it was time to get used to the what this new world is really like. No longer could they avoid the undead, pretend they didn't exist in their little make-believe world that was their apartment. Flexing his hand, Black rests it on the hilt of his knife. He was going to have to show them what this world was really like; teach them that if you didn't learn to act you'd be dead before the morning sun could even reach it's midday height.

Letting one hand come to rest on Sis's shoulder and the other on Jack's he effectively stops Sis mid thought. "I think that's a great idea," he tells them, "In two hours time we'll stop; alright?"

The children beam. "Thanks Black," Jack exhales, "I don't think either of us has done this much walking, well, ever."

Black chuckles. "I was beginning to figure as much."

After a moment of silence, Sis pipes up, "Can me and Jack sing a camp song? It's _boring_ to not do anything while we walk."

Black grunts, if they attract undead with their noise they'll just have to kill them; it'll be a perfect lesson in how to effectively take out more than one undead. "Go for it," he mumbles.

Taking a breath, Sis begins to sing in the unashamed loud way of children; "Princess Pat,"

"Princess Pat," Jack echoes, voice deeper and also a notch quieter.

"Lived in a tree,"

"Lived in a tree.."


	5. Chapter 5

The fire crackles quietly, Sis drools on Jack's shoulder and Black can't stop touching his gun whenever he hears a noise that borders on strange. Poking at the quieting fire, Jack asks, "So, how are we doing this?"

Shifting a bit closer to the flames to drop in a twig, Black asks, "What do you mean?"

"Well..." the boy drawls, "When I first ran into you, you had these _really_ awful raccoon-circles," he comments, point under his eyes, "But, a couple nights sleep in our house kind of made that better..." the teenager fades off and looks away. "I'm betting night's the worst time, to be in the middle of nowhere...not knowing when an undead could jump out at ya."

Scrubbing at eyes, Pitch sighs. Why did he pick such clever children? "Yes," he grunts, "Out here sleeping is rarely a restful activity."

Jack laughs unabashed. "So?" He needles, "Are we taking shifts or what?"

Black considers his options, he could allow this and risk Jack falling asleep on him, or he could do as he always did and sleep. Grinding his teeth, he realizes he likes neither option, there's no guarantee either the boy or girl would awake quick enough if an undead were to approach them in their sleep and it's even more worrying to think of Frost falling asleep in his shift. Grumbling under his breath, Pitch makes a decision. "Go to sleep," he tells him, "I'll wake you for your shift in a few hours."

"Cool," Jack agrees, picking up his sister, he lays her down on one of the bed rolls Pitch brought for them and throws a coat over the top of her. The boy makes to pull his bed roll closer to the fire, but Kozmotis stops him.

"No, sleep by your sister," he commands, "I don't want you spread out if someone attacks."

The teen blinks, but agrees. "Yeah, sure," he mumbles tugging the foam mat to his sister's side where he flops down. Tugging his hood over his head, Jack sulkily mumbles, "What? Don't I get tucked in too?"

Rolling his eyes, the man shrugs off his jacket and tosses it over the youth's skinny form. "Good night Jack," he says firmly.

Frost rockets up from his mat. "Hey!" he exclaims, "This is your coat, you don't need to be giving it to me..."

Poking at the fire so it roars a little bigger, Black leans back; pushing the teenager back down. "I'll be fine," he tells him, "I'm by the fire." When he sees blue eyes staring at him in confusion, the thin man growls and gets up tucking the jacket around the teens shoulders. "Go to sleep boy," he hisses.

Blinking at him, Jack smiles. "I don't think I've been tucked in for years," he murmurs.

Kozmotis pauses, "I would think so, you're what? fourteen?"

"Sixteen," the teen mutters, a sleepy glare overcoming his face.

"I know," Black chuckles, "I'm just teasing."

Jack giggles, "You're always frowning, how was I supposed to know you'd have a sense of humor?"

The man glowers briefly, but softens his face as he pats the boy's shoulder. "Sleep, Jack," he whispers.

He turns to return to the fire's edge, when one of Frost's pale hands worms its way out past his marine's coat and snags his wrist. "Hey, will you sit here with me 'til I'm a sleep?" He requests.

Plopping down in the cold grass, Pitch nods. "If that's what you need."

The boy smiles tiredly up at him, eyes already fluttering closed. "You know, Mr. Boogeyman; I think if kids got to know you they'd like you even more than Mr. Sandman..." drowsily, the boy murmurs, "You're actually super nice..." His eyes finally shutting closed with a gentle exhale, Black is left marveling at his long dark lashes. Brushing a thumb beneath them, he's reminded of his daughter's similarly long lashes. If he concentrates on them, he can pretend it's his daughter sleeping next to him; not this odd boy and his sister he's taken in.

Mind drifting, he's reminded of the last time he spoke with his daughter; it had been before the pandemic became a pandemic, when it was just an isolated case here and there...

_The television's soothing murmur in the background, Kozmotis turns from its headlines to pick up the ringing phone in the kitchen. Bare feet slapping on tile, he curses the person calling for interrupting him mid-break; at this point in his writing progress anytime not at his desk sketch and finalizing is valuable and rare. Picking up the phone, he rests it in the crook between his shoulder and ear as he swipes another handful of grapes from the dish he left on the counter._

_"Hello?" He nearly snarls around popping a grape in his mouth._

_"Bad time, huh?" An amused voice inquires over the line._

_Nearly choking on his snack, the man pounds his chest once forcing the half-eaten grape down. "No-" he chokes, "It's perfect timing."_

_There's laughter on the other side_ (how sweet it is to still remember that her laughter is like chimes on a breezy day) _"Certainly doesn't sound like it," she says._

_Returning to the couch, Kozmotis plops down; one foot resting on the coffee table. "Oh no, I'm in the middle of a break," he explains to her, "It's just-you know how deadlines sneak up on you."_

_He hears her sigh on the other end. "Even more so now that I'm in college! Papa, you never told me professors would be so strict on the deadline thing," he can hear a whine edging into her tone and it makes him chuckle._

_"I'd think after years of watching papa scrambling when my publishers are after me it'd be enough to let you know how important they were," he remarks teasingly._

_"Well it didn't," she sulks. A moment of silence passes and the two burst into a fit of familiar giggles; this is a topic that has come about many times over the years and it has never gotten in old-no, it's only gotten more familiar and warm with it's age. A new headline flashes on the screen in front of him and Black turns the volume up a notch._

_"-it seems to be spreading more and more, medical officials at this point and time have no way of combatting this disease or even of diagnosing it; the onset coming so quickly. It's advised by officials if you run into an affected individual to call the proper authorities and find shelter."_

_Intently starting at the gruesome images of those infected, he says to his daughter, "I hope your being careful Sera-not going to parties and such. That new virus seems quite frightening."_

_The girl huffs, "Please, they're freaking out over nothing-like usual." There's a hesitation on the other end before she says, "But, I've been basically just going to classes, the coffee shop and my dorm; term papers are due in a couple weeks you know. Papa..." she trails off for a second only to come across more strongly than before, "I hope you aren't going out to much either."_

_Kozmotis snorts, "Please," he mutters, "I'm in the final stages of my latest graphic novel; I'm even ordering in my groceries at this point."_

_Seraphina laughs again. "Okay," she exhales, "I'll see you in a month, right? Haven't rented out that room of mine have you?"_

_Lips quirking, the father stretches across his couch. "Of course not," he scoffs, "I think they'd be offended by the smell of the dirty laundry you never did while you were home for spring break."_

_"Papa!" Seraphina moans, "I have you on speaker phone!"_

_Bemused, the man asks, "Whatever for?"_

_"Erm," is the reply he gets._

_Groaning, Kozmotis runs a hand down his stubbly cheek. "You're with Nightlight aren't you?"_

_"...yeah," is the little answer._

_Shaking his head, the father fights a smile. "I guess I'll leave you to it then, I'll call you when I finish with the book; alright?"_

_"'kay, see ya papa." Seraphina concludes and the line goes dead._

_Holding onto the beeping phone for a moment longer, Kozmotis's eyes linger on the image of the blank faced gray man on the screen...he almost looks like a zombie, but, that's silly. Zombies are fiction, right?_

Coming back from the memory, Black is surprised to see an hour has passed. Glancing once more to the children's peaceful faces; he runs and hand down Jack's face and then strokes Sis's hair. They are precious and far too rare in a world like this; he doesn't know what Jack has planned for his sister and him, but if he wishes to stay with Black? He won't refuse them, he hasn't the heart.

Leaning in to the faces of the children, the man whispers, "If I had known you from before, I never would have let you suffer at the hands of you parents." Contemplating the children, Black does wonder about them. They are both bright, compassionate and naively trusting; it leaves him spinning. Who taught the children such kindness? Certainly not their father...whoever gave these children a chance to be children, he thanked them. Because in this world, there was no more room for innocence, it was be killed or kill. No one weak of will can survive, anyone too soft will become broken in such a land as theirs...but, he will ensure that this boy and girl do not. He will show them the way of this world, fight for them so they may survive another day; fight for them until they can fight for themselves on their own two feet.

"You will live and thrive," he tells them, "I will ensure it with my own life..." he whispers. Mind turning over his last words, Black thinks he's becoming too attached to this boy and girl; but, gazing down at their young faces, he reconsiders the idea that attachment shall ruin him. Maybe, it will make him stronger; he has something to fight for now.


	6. Chapter6

Jack's beginning to realize that this travel (without a _car_ ) is way less fun than those hiking trip him and his grandparents used to go on before Sis was born. He doesn't know if it's because he's older or if it's because they don't stop every five minutes to look at something-not that Sis and him haven't tried to, but Black's totally against stopping for anything less than someone dying (or undead). Glancing his sister's way, he sees she is just as bored as he is; so, it must have been something his grandparents did with him...hm. What to do then? Eyes roving the rather empty landscape, Jack comes to a decision.

"I spy with my little eye...something green!" He shouts, garnering a blink from the man and his sister grins.

"That sign!" she cries, pointing to one of the many signs dotting the old highway. She's right, but Jack doesn't want the game to be over so soon.

Shaking his head, he tells her, "Nope."

Sis pouts up at him. "You're lying! I got it right!"

The teenager rolls his eyes in the time honored way of all teenagers. "I'm not," he argues, "I spied grass, you brat."

"You're a big jerk Jack!" The girl snarls and she reaches out to hit him, but Black's hand smoothly catches her fist.

"Now, now children," he chides, "Let's not fight, hm?"

"Sorry," the two say on instinct.

Black chuckles. "It's fine, I thought quite a bit with my own sisters."

"You have sisters?" Jack sputters.

Kozmotis nods. "I did," he affirms, "But, I haven't heard from them since I was about eighteen; you see, my parents were very angry that I joined the Marines instead of going to college. My family refused to speak with me after they found out."

"That's sad!" Sis exclaims, "I get mad at Jack an' don't talk to him sometimes, but not for years and _years_!"

"There's got to be more to that," Jack declares, "No way that'd be what do 'em in."

The thin man's lips quirk. "I also might of married the daughter of a woman who was considered trash," he adds, smiling at Jack. He looks so proud of this, it causes the boy to wonder if he hadn't wanted it that way from the beginning. Maybe...no, Jack knows what it's like to have a sister; you don't ever leave them all alone if they're in danger.

"-where'd you grow up Black?" Jack hears Sis asks.

"California, but my wife's was raised in New York by her grandparents until they passed away when she was about fifteen-that's when she moved in with her mother where I lived." He tells the children.

"We lived in Pennsylvania until I started school, 'cause daddy's job moved." Jack's sister offers, bending down to pick up something. "Look!" She exclaims quite happily, "It's a pretty barrette."

Jack smiles and leans down next to her. "That it is," he agrees studying the way the gold coloring still looked new and the little pearls running down it looked quite neat.

"Put it in please," Sis decides, shoving it at Jack.

Doing so, Jack removes her old Goody one ("It'll keep her hair out of her eyes so she can see better," Kozmotis had explained) and slips in the pimped out pearl one. "There," he says once finished, "Don't you look cute?"

Expectedly, Sis preens in the way all girls do when told they're pretty. "I wish I had a mirror," she sighs.

"You might just get you're wish, Sis," Black murmurs suddenly, the two children look up to see the adult staring at some brick building in the distance. "I do believe that's a rest stop ahead."

"That's cool," Jack replies, "So...are we going?"

The tall man frowns and shakes his head. "I want you two to sit down and wait here, I need to make sure it's safe." He imparts and the without waiting for a response, leaves.

Plopping back down in the grass, Sis pouts. "How come he's always telling us to do stuff?" She demands.

Jack shrugs, he truthfully hasn't figure out even why the man was so willing to allow them along (he suspects it has something to do with missing his daughter, but...) "He was nice enough to let us travel with him," he reminds the girl, "He's in charge until we find someplace we'd like to live."

The younger child turns large brown eyes on him. "When's that gonna be Jack?" she questions.

Scowling at her, he jerks his arm to the openness around them. "Do you see a town anywhere around here?"

The girl shrinks a bit into her self and answers, "No..." Suddenly, the sound of gun shots go off in quick succession. A few minutes later, they see Black walking back their way. Coming to them, he smiles at the siblings so oddly that it almost seems haunted.

"Just a couple undead," he chuckles, "Surprised me coming out from a storage closet."

"You-" Jack starts, almost fearful, "You didn't get _hurt,_ did you?"

The man displays himself to Jack, even letting him prod at him a couple times; "No," he smirks, "Unfortunate for you, I suppose?"

Jack barks a laugh. "What'd you do with the dead?" He inquires, not really wanting his sister having to see anymore bodies.

"Put them back in the closet," Kozmotis admits, "I think the place will suffice for the night, though, it looks like they even have a couple vending machines that still have some snacks in them."

"Yay!" Sis yips, taking an eager step towards the building, "Can we go see what they are now?"

"Of course," Black obliges and the trio begin the short trek to the rest stop. When they arrive, the adult steers the children clear from the spot where he killed the zombies and into the little lifeless gift shop. "Set up behind the counter, " he orders. "I'll go get the treats from the vending machine."

Jack huffs along with his sister this time, Black _does_ order them around a lot; but, he was apart of some marines, right? In all those movies about army people they seem pretty strict about stuff the higher up they get...he wonders, just how high did Black get in the marines before he became an author? Mentally reminding himself to ask, the teenager prompts his sister with a tickling finger to get to work and together they unroll the mats and discuss if they should have the pinto beans with for dinner-which isn't really a discussion, because as Jack always like to remind his sister, "I'm the big brother, what I say _goes_."

This of course is met by his sister refusing, "I won't eat them."

Which Jack always makes sure to remind her then, "Sure, but none of the good stuff if you don't."

Finally, it ends with a loud sigh and a reluctant, "fine," from Sis.

"This happens every night I beginning to think," Black remarks from in front of the counter; his face lilting with a smile.

Giggling, Jack nods. "Oh yeah, you bet," he concurs, "So what'd ya find?" The man tosses a few bags of chips there way along with what appears to be a granola bar of some kind and to his sister, a bottle of apple juice.

"I like apple juice," the girl smiles. Twisting the lid, she downs half of it and offers a sip to Jack, "Want some?"

Happily, Jack accepts and takes a swig. "Thanks," he says; handing it back. Then looking to Pitch, he asks, "Hey, I was wondering; just how long were you in the marines? I mean, I remember reading your books when I was like, ten."

The man blinks and then looks away. "Oh, I don't know...I guess Sera was about eleven when I left; her mother had died shortly after and I-thirteen years I believe, my first book came out a year or so later; after that it I published a new book every other year."

"What's that book you have with you then?" Sis inquires around the granola bar-which is actually a cereal bar, she's gnawing on.

Coming around so he can sit leaning up against the back of the counter, he reaches into his bag and pulls out a gold and black book. It reads; _The Golden Empire's Fall._ Flipping it open so the children can see the detailed images in the wan light, he explains quietly, "This is the first book I ever wrote, and this the first ever published copy; it reflects a lot on my experience in the military set in the alien world of Lunar Empire."

Jack gapes, remembering one of the pictures. "Hey! I know this one!" He shouts joyfully, "This is the first one I read; I saw it at the store and snuck off with it to read behind a clothes rack while mom was shopping for shoes for Sis." Making a grabbing motion for the book, he has it handed to him with a stern look. Flipping through until he comes to the iconic image that all critics mentioned in their reviews about the book where the General is swallowed up by the fearlings he tried to suppressed and transformed into Pitch. "These images are all pretty graphic, though, especially the battle scenes," he comments.

Black lifts his shoulders and lets them go as he takes back the book, once he realizes the teenager's sister has been gazing a bit too long at the image of a woman underneath a fearling; and tells the boy; "Like I said, it's based on my career in the military."

"Will you read it to us at bed time?" Sis begs.

The man hesitates, "It might give you nightmares," he imparts.

The child's eyes turn very solemn as she shakes her head. "Any nightmares I get won't be from the story."

Black reluctantly exhales, "If you're-"

The door gift shop opens; holding a finger to his lips, Kozmotis takes his gun and stand in a single smooth motion. The man shouts something, but Jack's too terrified to know what as he hugs his sister close to him waiting for Black's lifeless body to topple back on them in need of decapitating.


	7. Chapter 7

Instead of the expected bang, he hears an almost happy exclamation. "Sandy!" Craning his neck, Jack barely sees a shock of golden hair above the counter's edge. Black moves quickly, coming around the counter and says, "It's good to see you're well."

Cautiously standing up a little more, he motions for Sis to stay down as Jack lets just his shock of white hair and icy blue eyes show over the edge of the cheep laminate to peer at this newcomer who Black welcomed. Blinking at a gentle of face man who's not quite a midget; dressed in a puffy yellow-almost gold-coat, contrasts in an almost hilarious way with Black's tall, dark and mean look. They aren't speaking in words, but in rapid fire gestures and an occasional noise from black as he seems to give negative and positive answers to whatever this strange man is asking.

Suddenly, warm caramel eyes glance in his direction; gasping in reflex, Jack falls back beside his sister. "What is it Jack?" The girl inquires in a tone not quite a whisper.

The teenager frowns and shrugs, there _isn't_ anything wrong; or at least he hopes so. Black knows this man-Sandy, he called him and they seem more than just polite, but friendly (like their friends). However, for what some reason; Jack can barely swallow around the lump in his throat. He hopes this doesn't change anything. He hopes Black doesn't leave them for this new man.

Shaking him from his thoughts, Black calls, "Children? Sandy would like to meet you."

Jack snags his sister's arms and against her protests, pulls her up and around the counter so they can meet this "Sandy". Coming around, Jack can only stare impassively as the tall man puts a hand on both their shoulders and brings them in front of him. "This is Jack and Sis," he tells Sandy. The small man smiles and nods, offering a hand first to Jack; which he reluctantly shakes and then to Sis who frowns and ducks behind Black.

The little yellow man retracts his hand appearing a bit disappointed, but lets it go to sign something at Kozmotis. The taller man nods his head and runs his fingers soothingly through the hair at the nape of Jack's neck as he explains to Sandy, "I found the children in a city on their own, I simply offered to let them travel with me to my daughter's university." The man smiles and nods some more, his hands flying around again. Squeezing the back of their necks; Black smiles slowly. "Thank you, Sandy; that is a wonderful offer.

Head snapping around so he can stare up at the gaunt face, Jack demands, "What offer?"

The man's eyes are almost relieved. "He knows of a strong hold just a short distance from here; he came here in fact to see if anyone was hanging around at this rest stop," he quietly tells Jack and Sis.

"So...we're not sleeping here?" Sis asks for clarification.

Sandy shakes his head and makes a rapid-fire gesture at the taller man. "No, we aren't; he says there's a small house they have open for travelers even." Black tells them.

Sis claps her hands. "Yay! A bed!"

Both men's eyes soften as Kozmotis scoops Jack's sister from the ground. "Yes, a bed for you," eyes roving to Jack who can't help but feel jealous and slighted at how affectionate Black is with his sister; he whispers, "And for you, Jack."

A mean little sneer coming to his chapped lips, Jack snarks, "What else could a boy ask for? Wait, I know, how about a world without _f-flippin'_ zombies." He snaps, but paying enough mind not to actually swear in front of Sis.

Kozmotis frowns at him, his brow screwed in confusion, but the pull at the corners of his eyes convey that he's also irritated. "Well," he murmurs, "Unfortunately, I can only offer you a bed; now come along, Sandy has a car waiting outside."

Blinking, the teenager can't stop himself from hopping over to the window to see it; what he sees makes him laugh. It's the ugliest yellow sedan he's ever seen. Turning his head back to the men and his sister, he inquires with a teasing lilt. "It still works and everything? You're not hiding horses or something are you?"

The little man chuckles soundlessly and shakes his head. Gesturing them towards outside, his eyes briefly, but meaningfully looking to the orange and pink sky. Jack feels a hand settle on his shoulder, "No worries, Sanderson, we have no reason to linger;" Black answers for them. Packing quickly, the children walk out behind the little man with the taller man trailing after the two of them.

After about ten minutes in the car, Jack pushes himself away from where he was staring out the window (and isn't that just the weirdest thing? After months and months of not seeing a car, let alone being in one) and to the space between the passenger's and driver's seat. "So," he starts, "How do you know or dear Mr. Boogeyman, Mr. Sandman?" The boy questions, just a bit curious as to how far these two go back.

The blond frowns and the black-haired man gestures a bit clumsily to the smaller, earning a nod for the explanation. "Sandy is a neighbor of mine," he tells the children, "We've collaborated on a few books-being that he is a fairly infamous sand sculptor and decent illustrator."

"Oh," Jack says in answer.

"That's the coolest!" Sis pipes up from the back, "I wish you had his and yours book with you too;" she sighs.

A grim little smile comes to the man's mouth. "Unfortunately, my life's work is much too heavy to carry-and worthless at this point."

It hurts in a funny little way to here the proud man say such a thing about his work, clearing his throat; Jack murmurs, "That's not true, everyone needs a story to get lost in sometimes-now especially, I bet."

Dark eyes meet his blue, "Thank you Jack." He whispers.

The boy bobs his head and falls back in his seat for the rest of the drive.

* * *

They come to a run-down main street surrounded by barbed fences, stopping in front of a guarded gate; they are waved in once a guard approaches and sees Sis and him in the back. Coming in, Jack blinks at how some people wander about even in the dusk; they must feel safe with the fences and guards to keep the undead (and living) out. Rolling down a window, Jack pops his head out to stare at the gently illuminated windows; the open doors letting the last of the evening's warm air in, the sound of voices wafting out and around the car and the aromas drifting all around from dinners being cooked outdoors on charcoal grills.

"This place is amazing!" Jack can't help but exclaim, "I thought I'd never see such a real town again."

Her little finger stuck in her mouth as drool dribbles unnoticed down her chin, Sis pleads, "Can we have dinner? Like, a real dinner with potatoes and hot dogs and ice cream?"

Smiling in an indulgent sort of way, Black brushes the tips of his finger on the top of her bony knee. "Maybe tomorrow, Sandy says we must go to the town hall to register here," he explains to them.

Coming to a simple brick building with large windows stripping the front, the small man parks the car; ushering them all out. They walk wearily up the front steps, Jack clinging maybe just as hard as Sis is to his hand; Black shifts his gaze to them briefly to smile reassuringly at the pair. "It's alright children," he soothes; "whatever happens you'll be well care for."

Jack doesn't know what he means, but that little lump is back and his mind's whispering; _he's going to leave you here, he's going to leave you and Sis, he's going to **leave**. _ Fighting back a sheen of tears, he gives his sister a rough tug and they go through the revolving door's so fast he feels a little dizzy.

The small man leads them up to a young woman-probably not all that much older than Jack-scribbling away on a legal pad, occasionally glancing to a rotating earing tree serving as a way to hold a bunch of notes. Clearing his throat, Sandy draws the woman's attention; her oddly warm gray eyes find them and widen.

"I'm sorry!" She blurts, "I've just been so busy trying to get this all done before dad's ready to go..." The blond man smiles and waves a hand. Grinning back, she cocks her head at the sight of them; "Oh, new people?"

Black speaks. "That we are," he agrees causing her to blush red.

"Sorry, lemme get my dad for you...he's the one running this place after all." She imparts to them, hastily standing up and rearranging things on her desk at the same time. "You wouldn't believe how busy _Santoff Claussen_ is for only having a hundred and thirty two people living here," she giggles embarrassed.

Getting up she goes behind the desk to open a rich wooden door when the squeak of feet comes in from the revolving doors. "Katherine! You better Shalazar out here! North and I are having a _disagreement_ as to where his yard ends and mine begins!" A man with an accented voice shouts.

The auburn woman's body tenses and she twists to thin her lips at them, but another heavily accented growl counters "We discuss this before! _My_ yard go to pine tree! _Da?_ "

Sis gasps and Jack's heart's beating so fast he think he might just faint as they turn around and-"UNCLE NICK!" Sis shrieks, feet slapping against the laminate tiles and into their great uncle's round belly. Jack takes a step in his direction before he's sprinting too, hugging the older man just as strongly as his sister does; Jack lets out a small sob.

"Uncle Nick..." He whimpers and muscular arms wrap around them as another scream rises up from the young man beside his uncle.

"Oi! It's _you_!" Squirming so he can see who the (Australian?) man is shouting at now, he realizes it's Black. An old man steps out from behind the wooden doors, and then guards with guns come into the room and there's screaming and uncle Nick's arms and hands shielding them from the sight of gunshots and gunsmoke and Jack's more scared than's he been since him and Sis nearly got eaten by their parents, because, _Black_ he's in the thick of it! If only uncle Nick would let him go help...


	8. Chapter 8

Uncle Nick takes them to his home after. He takes him and Sis into this tiny ranch house that Jack bets was built in the sixties or fifties and puts them on a well-worn plaid couch, tries to offer them dinner; which they refuse. Sighing, Uncle Nick with more white in his beard than Jack recalls and wrinkles wholly new on his forehead; pulls up a chair and asks,

"Did you know what that man did?"

Numb and maybe just a bit angry Jack mutters, "What? You mean besides taking care of us for the past week and a half and getting us here to  _you_?"

The old man frowns. "Jack, you haven't heard the stories; nearly half of all of Santa Claussen has run into Black. All who did have no happy story to tell," he explains grimly.

Sis who's been so very quiet since the spectacle in the town hall whispers, "You're lying." The teenager feels the couch spring back up as his sister stands up and from the corner of his eye he sees her shove their uncle's shoulder. "You're lying!" She screeches, "He was nice! Nicer than daddy and mommy all together!" Shifting fully so he can see the little girl's face, the boy sees a venom in his Sis's eyes he's never seen before. "He was nicer than  _you_ _,_ " she snarls at uncle Nick.

Predictably, the man flinches; Jack thinks it's fair. Black had shown he cared what happened to them, past, present and future; what had uncle Nick done? Sure, over the summers when they'd go visit him in Russia he'd moan and curse their parents for their state; he always sent them back, though. The old man tries to put a hand on Sis, but she falls back with a harsh momentum.

"Sis-" he begins, however, the child doesn't allow it.

"NO!" The brunette howls, "I  _want_ Black! Not  _you_!" Without warning, this foreign little girl stops around their uncle and finds a room and closes the door-the lock clicking ominously.

Jack's uncle looks to him with pleading blue eyes; as if he can fix whatever's broken with his sister's perpetual sweetness. "He really took a shine to her," Jack remarks instead; basically ignoring the man and his request. "He really missed his daughter, I think."

"Jack, you understand-"

"I don't." The youth abruptly snaps, "I don't understand and if you don't give me reason to, I think I just might break our friendly Boogeyman out and skip town."

Nicholas St. North's gaze grows, face pale as he scrambles to grab his nephew's hand. "You-you don't mean that, do you?" He murmurs.

Jack stares coldly at him. He's not a boy anymore-not really, he's spent months taking care of Sis; killing, stealing, facing death everyday. He wasn't a scared kid just trying to get out of his childhood alive anymore-he was  _Jack Frost_ a being mythical and cold right to his core. Maybe, it was time to take a page from his book. "I mean it and more," the teenager swears.

The man so much older than Jack remembers deflates, he sags in his seat and stares at Jack as if he's something lost. "I'll tell you," he whispers, "I'll tell you who this Black is."

* * *

The town doesn't really have a jail, but the courthouse has a basement and they see fit to throw Kozmotis down there. Breathing carefully as not to jar his bruised side and neck tense as not to jar his head and where a wound to his forehead still oozes blood, Black wonders if he's done the right thing. He recognized some of the people in the foyer-Bunnymund most notably. Though, the Sis and Jack's uncle? Nick was not a new face either and several of the guards who helped to "subdue" him were familiar as well. Taking a rattling breath, Black doesn't know if he regrets his previous actions; he does regret, though, that the children were present.

Rolling his cheek against the cold cement wall, Black's purposely lets his hand drift over the secret pocket he had sewn into the inside of his pants months ago. He keeps two things in the pocket; a photo of his infant daughter and her mother and his boyhood pocket-knife from a grandfather who was gone too soon. Eyes closing against the throbbing of his body, it reminds him of the first days-the first days of this heightened terror and the similar ache it caused until it simply phases out and became any normal old ache-as normal as the ache in his hands.

running a finger over the picture hidden by his pants, the man thinks despondently over the last time he heard his daughter...

_He can't see them in the darkness of the night, but the undead are clawing at the doors and windows are shattering; Kozmotis, though, doesn't care about any of that. He dives for his phone on the kitchen table before he even thinks to grab a butcher knife from his back wall; running back to the bathroom, he locks the door and shoves the small cupboard that holds his home's towels in front of it as he presses two on speed dial._

_The phone rings several times before going to voice message, desperate and afraid; the man presses the button and again, just as he begins to fear the worst-_

_"Hello!" A voice yells and there's screaming in the background; it almost sounds like,_

_"Sera! Get the fuck off that thing!"_

_Mouth dry from shock, the voice (his sweet, beautiful, perfect little girl) snaps, "Hello!"_

_"...Seraphina!" He cries voice mangled with emotion; overcome with the knowledg that his daughter is still alive and fighting._

_"Dad?" His daughter whimpers, "Oh god! Thank god!" He hears her hiccup and then there's someone screeching-_

_"Zombies Seraphina! **Hello!** Get off your phone before they kill you-us!" There's some more screaming and from his end of the line he's sure Seraphina can hear the zombies pounding on his bathroom door-thank god it hasn't broken (small mercies)._

_"I love you starling," he whispers to her._

_"I l-" suddenly, her voice is cut off by the sound of a scuffle and Kozmotis knows Kina, Sera's roommate, is attempting to steal the phone from her._

_"I'm sorry Mr. P! But, Sera and I are trying not to die here!" He hears the girl holler into the phone and he can just picture her-pale skin splattered with the undead's black ooze, her red hair a mess falling around her shoulders._

_The phone clicks and the familiar, panic inducing blare begins; letting the father know Kina had hung up. Black sits there for a long time, the phone cradled to his ear. When the undead break in, instinct takes over and it's just like navy training all over again; without thought, he slays the undead until they are dead again and finds his way out into the light of morning._

Black thinks mournfully on how he's been incapable of reaching Seraphina (or Kina her roommate, or her boyfriend Nightlight or her best friend Katherine) since that call and sometimes he wishes he'd called sooner; to let her know he loved her and to wait for him. Other times, he wishes for later, so he could hear the story as how to she and her combat-boot wearing roommate survived. Fleetingly, he blames Jack and Sis for this mess he finds himself in and this lasts less than a minute.

He didn't have to follow Jack back to that apartment, or teach the girl how to kill a zombie, let them travel with him. He had, though and that's what matters; he let the sight of a child sprout softness in his heart and the quick-witted words of a teenager warm his soul, Black let the longing for companionship and the hole of uncertainty be filled by what he missed. He missed his daughter, past and present. He missed the wide-eyed awe-inspiring part of her that used to be all of eight and he missed the current her, so sharp and witty; so strong-Jack.

It hadn't taken long at all, but he'd fallen for Jack Frost and Sis. He loved them as much as he loved his daughter. Eyes shuttering back to the world around him, he slowly roves his gaze over the guard standing in front of the stairs-blocking it. Calculating and thinking with a mind that won him battles, he puts percentages and numbers to the possibility to another guard being right outside the door upstairs and to more patrolling the hall; the building and town. Next to what happens when they turn to zombies, a perfect distraction. Yet, is he going to create zombies to ruin this little haven? All for the selfish need to escape and so that he make take his children away from here? To find his missing daughter?

A tiny smirk growing as the guard briefly glances away, a determination new grows in Black. He will. He will break out of here so masterfully that all will curse him for what he's done and praise him for his ingenuity. Chuckling silently, the man settles and closes his eyes to rest until the time is right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this guys, let me know what you think of this chapter and what's to come.


	9. Chapter 9

Uncle Nick sits defeated in his armchair for a moment, eyes unfocused and somewhere else; then, with a sudden seizing of the arms of his chair, he's up.

Jumping up, Jack demands "Where are you going!"

The old man waves a hand. "I'm no telling this until I've had a bit of something," he explains and shuffling to his kitchen he reaches up into a cupboard and brings down a giant blue bottle. "Made it by myself," he mutters; unscrewing the ornate cap. Shuffling around the basin where a sink used to be, he makes a pleased noise as he pulls up a mug. Turning fully to Jack, he asks, "You wants some?"

Jack frowns. He hates alcohol, any form of it-the cleaning kind and drinking. "No," he tells his uncle firmly.

The man shrugs and pours himself a helping, putting the cap back on; he takes a swig and begins to lumber back to the chair across from Jack when the front door rattles with the pounding of a fist. Frowning, uncle Nick puts aside his drink and meanders to the door. The bearded-man opens it, prompting Jack to crane his neck to see who lays just outside.

It's a girl-about his age-and a kid a bit older than Sis (ten or eleven maybe?). Her dark eyes are huge and luminescent in the moonlight and from the way the little double's eyes crinkle in the shadows, Jack is sure that the older one is squeezing her too hard.

"Is it true North?" The woman demands, "Did they catch that monster Black?" Her eyes are desperate as her hand reaches out clinging to his uncle's flannel.

There's a scream from the room Sis locked herself in an hour before and he can hear her kicking it. Obviously, she's been listening. Looking back to the door, he sees the trio looking to his sister's territory. Feeling just a bit mean and so very exhausted, Jack warns the young woman;

"I'd be careful if I were you, she has a knife."

Brushing back a fly-away lock of hair, the teenager frowns. "What? Who's this North?" She inquires, deferring to the man and not the boy.

Irked, Jack snaps. "You could ask me! I'm his fucking great nephew! Thanks for asking!"

She scowls at him. "Toothiana and this is Baby Tooth," she tells him.

"Cool," he sneers at her; but when he looks to the terrified child at her side he says a lot softer. "Hey kiddo, my sister will let you join her in the room if we ask."

"No!" Toothiana growls, "I don't want  _my_ sister with some armed girl!"

Jack's about to yell at her, scream that Sis would  _never_ hurt anyone...but is that true anymore? The youth didn't know. So, before he can say anything and the girl can do anything, Baby Tooth pulls away from her sister.

"I will join her," she states firmly. Stepping into the candle-lit room, the girl dressed in a brilliant array of blues and greens walks to Sis's door and knocks. "May I come in friend?" She inquires.

A moment later, the lock clicks and the door opens. Sis's eyes are red and puffy as she glowers at them all, "Only she and Jack can come in! The rest of you suck!" She snarls and slipping her hand in Baby Tooth's she tugs the girl in; closing and locking the door.

Horrified, Toothiana nearly runs at the door; uncle Nick is smart enough to stop her. "She be fine," he tells the young woman, "Sis very kind."

"He said she had a knife!" The teenager howls, pointing at Jack.

The white-haired youth shrugs. "For killing zombies...and Black-haters, it looks like."

She looks pale in the light, her dark-hair reflecting the candle-light. "She-she  _likes_ Black?" She warbles, a hand hovering around her lips.

Jack frowns. "Loves, I 'spect; he was very good to us in the short time we were with him." He explains breezily, it's the truth, after all.

Toothiana reaches below the fabric of her saris pulling out a necklace of teeth; Jack recoils. "He  _killed_ my mother and father, Baby Tooth's twin followed shortly after."

Jack doesn't want to believe it, Black's a  _good_ guy, isn't he? He never laid a hand on him, never slapped him, never kicked him...swallowing, Jack falls back in to the couch. "I want you to tell me exactly what happened," he orders, "I need to hear the full story."

Toothiana nods. "I will if you want, but, I need to know..."

"He's in the basement." North cuts in, "Bunnymund saw him tossed there."

The girl releases a breath, tucking the teeth away. "That's a relief," she exhales and Jack hears a muffled sob from behind the door where the children are; he doesn't blame Sis. She thought he was wonderful (Jack did too).

"Alright, sit down," he prompts.

After a moment of hesitation, she tucks away her string of teeth and sways over to the couch. "How old are you?" she questions lightly as she perches herself on the edge of the sofa near Jack.

Not phased in the least, Jack answers, "Sixteen, you?

"Eighteen," she answers.

"Great, now tell me;" he demands.

In the darkness he see her lip wobble. "Where do you want me to start?" she implores.

Rolling his neck back so it rest's on the back of the couch; he stares upside down at the door to Sis's room for a moment; he can picture her. He sees her tucked against the door, her ear pressed against the thin wood and her hand clutching Baby Tooth's. "I don't care," he finally replies. It doesn't matter where she starts, he knows how it will end (in a bath of blood and their hero Black standing stoic above it all).

"Okay," she whispers.

* * *

_My father was born in a village just outside of Lucknow-an only son and and only child; a rare thing in India. At fifteen he left his family for Lucknow; he wanted to be an engineer. There, he met my mother. She was just one of the many daughters my grandparents had, she worked in their small grocery shop in the mornings; father would see her everyday on his way to class. After almost a year of this, he asked my grandfather for her hand-he agreed of course; an engineer makes good money after all._

_Shortly after they married, father finished school and set his sights on America. He had to wait though, his wife was pregnant and his father had fallen ill; he moved them back to his village where I was born and we stayed there for the next three years as my grandfather and then my grandmother grew sicker and eventually passed away. After they died, father moved us back to Lucknow where we lived above mother's parents grocery store for the next four years and by the end of our lives in India mother was pregnant with Baby Tooth and her sister._

_Shortly after they were born, father received word from one of mother's cousins that he could get him a job in America. Father who aspired to bring us there, excepted readily and we moved to New York; then Seattle; then Tampa, and finally Chicago where mother had a sister and several cousins. I was fourteen then and very much ready to finish my school in one place...I was hoping to go to university there as well, I wanted to be a dentist. I had been just a month shy of graduating from school when-when it happened._

_We were all home that day...an aunt had just had a baby and we were all celebrating; we'd heard the news stories over the past couple weeks, but we'd brushed them off as nothing. Everyone did, didn't they? How stupid that was, the party was in full swing when one of those **creatures** wandered into the backyard...it bit my uncle, he toppled over screaming and a few more came in. They began to  **eat** my uncle, and one of them caught a younger cousin of mine...I'll never forget how she howled as it bit into her nose. Mother realized then what was happening, she grabbed up one of my smaller cousins' in her arm and told me to get my sisters away from the undead that was getting too close to them. I ran over just in time to get Baby Tooth out of the eye-less monster's grasp and dragged them to the house where father was ushering everyone he could inside._

_We lost three cousins and my uncle that day-a week later, two more uncles when they tried to set out to look for food. It was almost a month before we heard gunshots outside and when we dared to open a door to look outside we saw a group of men shooting down the undead in the street. Father-the last man who was still healthy enough to walk-put up his hands and jogged out._

_The man didn't shoot him, he told us his name was The Hunter and he would clean up this street for all of us to live on...he did do that and more, but soon, soon he became tyrannical. Father didn't like it and he didn't like the way he kept grabbing at my aunts, cousins and even me once; when he told him to stop...The Hunter attacked him. Mother rushed in and begged him to stop, but he shot her and-and ordered his men to take my aunts, cousins and uncles into their vans and jeep. I don't know what he wanted with them, but I-I watched them all get into them, I refused and kept my sisters at my side._

_The hunter said to me, "What's three less? You'll be dead in a day's time anyway." His eyes were cold...so cold, I feared what he'd do to my family; but, they went with him. I asked my aunt to leave her baby with me; surely it'd be better than anything than he had in store..._

_She told me. "If they leave, the guns leave; the undead will get in and kill us all. Either way we die, this way, at least I know it's farther off."_

_I didn't understand. We could build up gates and use knifes and baseball bats, but no one listened! I didn't understand...I don't understand. Why were they so afraid to defy him? Father wasn't. I watched them all drive off, farther and farther they went; until they were not even a speck anymore. My sisters began to bawl, they asked me;_

_"Why did they go?" "Why did he do that?" "Why didn't they stop him?"_

_I didn't know and all I could do was cry with them. Soon enough, our parents would rise up and we could join them; there was little else for us, I thought. Looking at my mother, I notice something; her chest was still rising and falling. Crouching over her, I whispered "Mum?" She didn't say anything and I put my ear to her mouth-her breath was warm against it. I took off my jacket and put it over the bullet wound on her stomach. Maybe if, Maybe if I waited she'd wake up and be able to tell us what to do...give us something to hold onto in this terrifying world._

_As evening approached, we heard footsteps; looking up I saw a man in a military jacket approach. He raised up his gun and blasted our parents heads; they were unrecognizable, blood, brain, bone and teeth a mess on the pavement (and on us)._

_Mother had never opened her eyes or told us what to do. I was beyond angry with him, I screamed "My parents are dead! And you had the gal to desecrate what was left of them!"_

_His eyes they were so cold. His jaw set in away as if to say he was **just** in what he'd done! Ruining what I had left of my parents, of my  **life!**_

_"Would you have them rise up?" He growled, "Have them eat those pretty faces right off your heads?" He sneered, face so very cruel..._

_I had no words. Not one. All I could do was screw my eyes close and scream. Scream loud enough for all the world and beyond to hear...he left, Black **left**! He didn't care and thought because he destroyed my parents his part was done and he could go on as if it never happened! He left us there for the undead to find and they did. They found us. They ripped Baby Tooth's sister right from my arms; all I could do was scramble for the pocket knife I knew my father's corpse had somewhere on him. I found it just as one tried to chomp Baby Tooth's arm..I stabbed it in the eye and then I stabbed it again and again; Baby shrieking and shrieking as she was forced to watch me kill it as her sister was eaten just a few feet away._

_After that one, I went and lobbed the heads off the mangled corpses eating my sister. She stirred in their corpses and I had to cut off her head as well; there were no mementos to take, nothing that I would be able to come back to either; so I collected their teeth. You probably think it's strange...but, it made sense then-still does; I needed a little bit of them with me always. I gathered the few of my parents and then took the whole bottom row of my sister's, I took the teeth and then I took my sister's hand._

_We left with three holes in our hearts and without help-no thanks to Black._

* * *

Jack sits up straight. "It's not his fault," he decides. "He did what was necessary." Toothiana's face becomes indignant, but Jack holds up a hand. "No, he did what I had to do! I had to bash my own parents' heads in, so me and Sis could get out alive...your sister's death is your fault. You should have gotten out of there and you didn't. I'm sorry about what happened to your family,  _all_ of it, but..." Shaking his head, the boy gets up from the couch.

"I know you think Black should of stuck around, but do you know what he was trying to do? He was trying to get to  _his daughter_ who's still a couple states away at this very minute. If everyone's story's like yours, then I'm totally breaking out Black." Jack muses.

"You're  _what_?" The woman hisses. "You're going to break out a  _criminal_!? You should be in the basement as well!" She howls, finger pointing at him accusingly.

Uncle Nick steps in. "Hush, both of you!" He shouts. "Toothiana, he's not wrong and  _you_ Jack, he's done more than desecrate the dead-and almost dead; I know many stories." He tells the boy.

Scoffing, Jack falls back in the couch. "Yeah? Well tell 'em." A sneer plastering his face, the teenager mutters; "Because he's beginning to sound more and more like a hero to me!"

Face grave, North imparts; "You won't after I finish."

Jack almost doesn't believe him.


	10. Chapter 10

Staring down at his drink, North is quite for some time. It makes Jack fidget, he doesn't like this; unfurling from his spot, he walks to the window and looks out. Houses are dimly lit-with candles, he suspects. It's feels so strange to know there are people just next door, across the street, all the way across town...he hasn't been somewhere so populated by the living since-well, since all began. He wonders if he yelled loud enough, would a neighbor come running? Or is it like back home, where no one ever came.

Breathing on the window pane, his mind eases as it fogs up just a little; it has been getting a bit colder lately, hasn't it. With a pale finger he begins to trace a snowflake, it fades away half-way through. He sighs, oh well, it's not like he's really Jack Frost...Shaking his head, he looks back to his uncle.

"Well uncle North? Are you gonna share or what? 'cause I'm still considering the whole break out Black thing here." He grunts caustically.

The old man flinches, Tooth from beside him lays one of those summer-hands on his; he hates her for it. They shouldn't be able to comfort each other when no one's comforting Black (or Sis and him for that matter). His uncle rubs at his nose, causing it to redden.

"What story you want?" He asks, "Mine? Or someone else's? I know many."

Jack scowls out the window, if he squints, he can make out two small shapes in the window's faint light across the road..."I don't care, I know they're all supposed to make Black look bad," he answers finally.

He hears the man give a weary sigh, "I tell mine then;" he relents.

"Good."

North gulps down the rest of his drink before he speaks. "I was like many people, I didn't think it would happen as it did; at time, I was in Nova Scotia giving talk at wood-working convention. That when...when they swarm in. I had many tool with me on stage, lucky for me-not so for many. I get to my car and go out of there, I was going to see if I could not find your mother and you children and I was looking for car to hot-wire in Michigan when...when I run into our Black."

The old man pauses, brooding over his empty glass; as if it were full it would give him some answer. Jack hates how much he looks like father in that moment. Uncle North shakes his head and sits a bit straighter as he continues;

"He was charming, I admit. He knew how to spin good story, said he needed help; had daughter a few hours away and his car break-down not far. I believe him and told him I could take him. I hot wire my new car and I begin to take bag of food and things from my car and put it in newest car when, well, I no quite remember. Black was behind me then, I woke up in dark with awful pain in back of head. The car and him were gone...I lucky no undead eat me!" He yells only to snap his mouth shut.

The man gets up, anger so hot it makes Jack shrink back against the window; he's seen this anger, he  _knows_ this anger. It's the anger that doesn't  _stop_.

"He took the car! He took my things! He left me to be eaten! He  **left**! He selfish, selfish man; I show him kindness and he abuse it!" North yells taking a step towards the teenager, normally gentle eyes ablaze.

"Black is no good, he uses you and dumps you,  **damn**  what happen to you!" He's nearly within spitting distance and Jack's hyperventilating,  _oh god, oh god, ohgodohgodohgod-_ Uncle North grabs his arm, and bellows "He no  **care**  about you!" _ **  
**_

Jack can't help put curl into himself, eyes shutting tight. The man's going to hit him, he's going to _hurt_ him. "Do you  _ **understand**_?" North roars.

"You get the fuck away from  _my_ brother," Sis hisses and Jack opens his eyes in shock. He hadn't even heard the door to the room she holed herself in open in his terror. But, there she is all her four and a half feet; eyes just as wild as their uncle's with her knife poised dangerously around the old man's groin.

"Sis," Jack croaks, "Go b-"

"NO!" The child shrieks, "He's bad! They're all bad!" North for his part, has gone into some sort of shock, the rage that had possessed him moments before gone in the face of a knife to his manhood.

Jack still a little shaky, but a lot less terrified knowing their uncle can't do anything to either of them; sighs. "No," he shakes his head. "Not all of them; why don't we find out where Mr. Sanderson is? Hm? Would you like that Sis?" He inquires, trying to sooth his sister down from her fury.

The little girl peaks out from around their uncle's bulk; eyes glancing up to his face and then back to Jack. "He won't say mean things about uncle Black?"

The boy's a bit stunned by the girl's new name for their travelling companion, but he rolls with it. "He can't even talk, remember kiddo?" Jack grins. She nods, the knife tilting a little too close to North's groin. "Okay, get your stuff and say bye to Baby Tooth, we're going!" He exclaims, exuding as much enthusiasm as he can.

Sis grins back at him and the knife almost moves away from the old man, when..."What about North?" She demands.

Jack waves it off, a little more than worried for his sister at this point. "I got it," he replies and at her doubtful look, leans to the side grabbing his crook by the door. "See? I'll be fine."

"Oh, alright!" The brunette agrees, releasing North and bounding off to get their things.

The old man sputters, "You not serious?"

Jack shrugs. "I don't think you meant to blow up like that...but, you just made Sis more than mad North; she's  _livid_." Fingers wringing the smooth wood beneath them, he mutters, "I remember one time, dad really smacked me around good...I was just  _begging_ him to stop when Sis came in. You know what she had with her? She had a baseball bat twice her size, she told dad 'you get away from him mister, or I'm gonna break your legs'. I don't know what the fuck possesses her...it's scary though, she wouldn't call him dad, or daddy or well,  _anything_ but mister for weeks."

Miserably glancing back to the room Sis was in, he sees her dragging along their bags behind her; hand lifting in jaunty wave. "There's something really screwed up in her, but what can I do? She's my sister."

"I have everything Jack!" Sis shouts, coming to his side.

He ruffles her hair. "Awesome! Why don't you say bye to Baby now?" He implores.

Letting go of the bag, she turns to the older girl standing stoic a foot or so away. "Bye Baby Tooth!"Sis cries, hugging the older girl.

A brightly-sleeved hand comes and pats Jack's sister on the back. "I will see you soon," she answers back.

Toothiana from where she is looks ready to protest that declaration and when Jack musters the courage to look at his uncle; his face is blank. Serves him right, the teenager thinks viciously. He deserves this scare, he needs to know- _everyone_ needs to know that Black is a person just like the rest of them.

Smiling down at his little sister, Jack inquires, "Ready Sis?"

Taking his hand, the brunette nods. "As long as you're with me."

They step out the door, not giving anyone a single indication to doubt what they are about to do.


	11. Chapter 11

Walking through town, Jack attempts to think of a plan that will help save Black and get them out of here as well. Walking down the pot-hole dotted street, he feels Sis pull incessantly on the back of his hoodie.

"What is it!?" He snaps, whirling around and glaring down at the little girl.

Sis shrinks back for all of a moment before raising herself up on her toes, nostrils flaring. "I want to know what we're doing!" She demands.

Letting out a smoky breath, Jack yanks harshly at his hair and takes his sister between two houses. "We're-" looking to and fro, he leans in close whispering, "We're going to break out boogeyman." Sis eyes are wide and her mouth open as the teenager goes on, "I'm sick of this place, I don't care if he's done bad stuff-it doesn't even sound all that terrible to begin with. Besides, he's been good to us and-and we _owe_ him." And doesn't that get to the heart of it all? Jack knows he's in great debt and if he learned anything over his sixteen years, a debt isn't a good thing to have. Look what happened to dad, he got in debt back in Pennsylvania, lost his business, had to declare bankruptcy, move them family to South Dakota and started to drink.

A knocking comes from the window, startling the boy and girl. Shoving Sis away from the pane, he looks to see a youth of ten staring out at him. Grinning, Jack blows on the window, giving him a moment to write 'hi'.

The boy grins and opens the window. "Hi," he says, "I'm Jamie, who're you?"

An impish light to the elder's eyes, Jack replies. "I'm Jack Frost! Why do you think it's been getting so cold so quickly?"

Jamie giggles, showing off a gap in his front teeth. "You're kidding!" He counters.

Jack just shrugs, not really caring if the boy believes him or not. "That's okay, it just means you don't get to be a part of my super secret awesome rescue mission!"

There's a flicker of doubt in his eyes before fascination wins out. "Yeah? Who're you rescuing?"

"A general!" Jack proclaims, "He's from the golden days when heroes were chivalrous and the undead were nothing more than just fears;" seeing he's entrapped the boy, the teenager goes on. "You see, it was his job to guard the sickness; but, bad guys tricked him into thinking his daughter caught it and he abandoned his post to go find her...and that's when the bad guys stole it and let it loose on us all."

Jamie cocks his head and looks to Sis who stands surprisingly stoic. "Who's she?" He demands.

"Her? Oh that's just Sis, his daughter! You see, I found her and I was told to bring her here. They're blaming him for all this bad stuff...but, if I can get him out and show him that his daughter is alive? Well, he knows the cure. He'll cure everyone 'cause now he'll have a reason to!"

The boy bites his lip. "What do you want me to do?"

Jerking his head towards the perimeter lined with chain-link fences off in the distance, Jack explains, "I need a distraction-an undead. You see, Sis has a knife that can cut through the fence...but, she needs a watcher, to make sure no one catches her cutting a hole for one to squeeze through."

Skeptical once more, the boy frowns. "Why do you need an undead?" He inquires.

"To distract everyone while I help the general get out of the court house basement-no one's going to let him out otherwise." He replies with a smile.

Eyes flitting between them, Jamie nods. "Okay, lemme get my coat and boots!" He calls, ducking back into the shadows.

Looking to his sister, he asks, "You got that? You know what you're doing?"

She nods. "What if one goes after Jamie?" She demands.

"You behead it just like you practiced;" he replies. "When one gets through, I want you to send Jamie for a guard; wait there for us, okay?"

"Right," the girl agrees.

"I'm ready!" Jamie cries, scrambling through his open window.

Catching him before he can fall to the ground, Jack hisses. "You're being too loud!"

The boy chuckles. "Oh no I'm not," he disagrees, "Mom snores when she's really asleep, I've bee listening to her for hours! And my sister, Sophie, she's sleeping in her crib across the living room."

"What about neighbors?" Jack argues, head swiftly punctuating his point with a jerk to the house next door.

The ten-year-old shakes his head. "Mr. Logan died last month, no one's lived there since."

Lips in little more than a thin line, Jack mutters, "I see." Pulling Sis over and then giving the younger boy and girl a light shove towards the fence, he orders "Don't make too much noise! Watch for guards Jamie!"

Once they are hardly more than rough blurs in the night's darkness, Jack turns back to the road; fully prepared to make his next move.

* * *

Reaching the courthouse, he opens the door. Two men sit by a desk in the middle of the room, each holds a cup of steaming drink. Approaching, Jack notes one has an Australian accent-the young one. Upon the door closing behind him, both look at him. Approaching slowly, Jack doesn't let let them on to how anxious he feels by keeping his shaking hands stuck in his front pocket.

"I'm here to see Black," He tells them.

"You're one of the children he brought with him aren't you? North's nephew?" The older of the two says.

Jack bites his cheek. "Yeah, what of it?" He mutters.

"I'm surprised you want to see you're captor, is all," the man replies.

"Captor? What-no, I _asked_ him to travel with my sister and me, he didn't _force_ us," he explains through gritted teeth. "He's a _good_ guy, you know."

The Australian snorts. " _Is_ he? Well, that'd explain why he thought tying me to a tree after _stealing_ my supplies was the kind thing to do!"

"Shut up you stupid kangaroo!" Jack howls, "You do what you have to do! You should know that!"

"You do what you have to do!? It shouldn't matter if you're starving! What makes us people is having goddamn morals! If we don't use 'em we might as well be undeads like the rest of the world!" The Australian argues back.

Jack would have pounced if it weren't for the old man stepping between them. "Stop it Bunnymund! And you as well child!" He commands. "You both have your own points, but what matters is _why_ you want to see him." He concludes, eyes piercing Jack.

Taking a breath, the teenager looks to his feet; white fringe falling into his eyes (he needs to get his hair cut again, he's not letting Sis do it again though...). "I-" he swallows, "He's-Bunnymunds right in some ways...I just want to know _why_."

The old man nods his understanding and Jack feels his fluttering heart slow. He will see him. He get's to see _Black_. "You may see him," the man agrees.

"You can't be serious Ombric!" Bunnymund hisses, body tense and hands balled into fists.

A sharp glance goes the Australian's way. "He needs it, who are we to deny him?" He counters.

"So?" Jack murmurs, taking a hesitant step towards the two.

"This way," Bunnymund grunts, stalking down the hall; not even waiting for Jack to catch up.

* * *

"I'll be watching you two from up here," Bunnymund explains, gesturing to where he stands in the doorway as Jack squints down at the shadowed corners. In the left he sees something-someone move.

"Why's he look like he got the crap beat out of him?" Jack demands angrily.

The older male shrugs. "'cause he did," he answers, "That's what happens when you resist the law, ya see."

"I'd call that excessive force!" Jack spits back, not waiting for a response as he stomps down the creaky steps. Coming to stand in front of the man, he sees glittering eyes looking up at him.

"Jack," the man murmurs.

"Hey man," the teenager replies falling cross leg in front of him. "So, how they treatin' ya?" He asks conversationally.

The man gives him a faintly bloody smile. "Like a king," he replies wryly.

The youth barks a laugh and leans in. "We're getting you out of here," he mumbles. "I have Sis and this kid-"

"Wait," The ex-soldier says, holding up a hand. "Don't you want to know if what they've been telling you is true?" He questions. He was sure Jack would want to know if he truly did those things...things the boy's father likely would have done.

Jack shifts his gaze uncomfortably. "No,"he answers, "I just-you've treated us like-like we _matter_ , I can't believe you're all bad...no matter what they say."

"I'm not a good man, Jack," Black mutters, "Not even before this all began...when I was a soldier, I _did_ things..."

Jack grips his hand. "No, not now, _please_ " Jack begs, "We need to get you out of here!" His voice rises and the dark-haired man shushes him with a hand to his mouth.

"Calm yourself," he orders, "I have a knife, take it." Pushing the instrument into the boy's hand, he then says, "Find out what they did with my things...tell them I was holding onto something of yours for safe-keeping."

"Don't you want to know how we're going to get you out?" Jack inquires confused.

The man smiles. "I trust I'll find out soon enough," he wheezes, "Sis isn't here..."

Jack nods, "Yeah, she's letting in a zombie."

Pitch hums. "I hope she can handle it," he remarks.

The teenager smirks. "Of course she can, you taught her all you know."

"Yell at me," Kozmotis commands.

"What?"

"Yell!" He snaps.

"Why!" Jack shouts, "Why!?"

"Oi! What are you doing down there?" Bunnymund hollers from the top of the stairs.

From behind him, Jack hears the steps creak and then a hand is on his shoulder; dragging him towards the stairs. "Get outta here kid, he ain't gonna give you any good answers," the Australian advises.

As they leave the room, Jack's gaze never leaves the mirthful eyes watching him. Black knows what he's doing, Jack needs to trust him like the guy trusts him and Sis. "Wait," Jack mutters, digging his toes into the soft wood. "Where's the stuff he had with him? I gave him my dad's knife for safe keeping..."

The man sighs. "I'll take you to where he put his stuff," glaring down at the teenager, the the sun-tanned man snarls, " _then_ you leave!"

The boy gives the older male a gentile smile. "Of course," he agrees; fingers crossed behind his back.


End file.
